Singapore's SingTel posts 30% rise in Q4 profit

GauravRaghuvanshi

SINGAPORE (MarketWatch) -- Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (Z74.SG, SGAPY) Thursday said its fiscal fourth-quarter net profit rose 30% on year because of higher contributions from some of its regional mobile associates and currency-translation gains from the strength of the Australian dollar.

Net profit for the quarter ended March 31 was S$1.29 billion compared with S$991.7 million a year earlier, SingTel said in a statement to Singapore Exchange. Five analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had tipped net profit to be S$1.04 billion.

Operating revenue was S$4.78 billion, up 3% from S$4.64 billion, according to the statement.

Operating revenue from SingTel's Australian unit Optus was down 1.1% to A$2.30 billion in the fourth quarter, while net profit was up 2.1% at A$267 million.

Pre-tax profit from SingTel's regional mobile associates rose 6.4% on year to S$510 million as contributions from its Thailand and Indonesian partners were higher, despite the drag from its Indian associate Bharti Airtel Ltd. (532454.BY) that was made worse by the Indian rupee's loss against the Singapore dollar. Bharti Airtel's contribution from its south Asia operations was down 24.7% at S$148 million.

SingTel will continue to explore acquisition opportunities after it announced a US$321 million acquisition of Amobee, a U.S.-based mobile advertising solutions provider in March.

"We continue to review opportunities to increase our stakes in the associates and may make strategic investments to gain important capabilities, drive growth in adjacent industries and extend the Group's customer relationships," SingTel Group Chief Executive Chua Sock Koong said in the statement.

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